A bridge too narrow

The Island’s Progressive Conservative government missed an opportunity to show some leadership by finally doing the right thing by putting in a bike lane on the Hillsborough Bridge. Instead, they chose to do nothing – other than follow the Liberals’ plan to delay a bike lane until 2023 and blame the Greens for not bringing it up during this year’s capital budget talks. In fact, this project should have been part of the construction work already underway to install a wastewater pipeline from Stratford to Charlottetown. Since work began on Oct. 15, motorists have been ticked off with blocked lanes, traffic jams and long delays to cross the bridge. At some point down the road, they will have to go through the same hassle all over again if a new lane is added to the bridge. Clearly, a bike lane (or an active transportation lane for pedestrians as well) is needed. Stratford continues to grow with apartment and condominium developments. A bike lane could start a new trend for people to leave their gas-guzzling vehicles at home and bike or walk to work or school in Charlottetown each day. And, this issue is nothing new. In 2016, Green Party Leader Peter Bevan-Baker tabled a petition in the legislature with 316 signatures. Leading the petition effort was Josh Underhay, who decided it was time to do something after expressing concerns with biking across the bridge with his son Oliver in the bike’s trailer. In April, Josh and Oliver died in a canoeing accident on the Hillsborough River. Underhay, a Green party candidate at the time, didn’t get the chance to see the bike lane project become a reality. This week, another petition was presented by Bevan-Baker in the legislature with 3,255 signatures – 10-times the amount it had three years earlier. To say that momentum is gaining is an understatement. This petition was presented by Bike Friendly, a group formed by Underhay’s friends and family, including his wife Karri and brother Mitch. The group wants this project to be a priority for this government while it is in power. But already, there are signs of disagreement between the sides, especially regarding an engineering review. Transportation Minister Steven Myers says one is needed while the group says one has already been done. And, even though the money is set aside in 2023 by the Liberals, the PCs were elected to make their own decisions, not pass the buck onto the now third party. Quite frankly, there is nothing stopping the government from shifting the money into next year’s capital budget rather than four years from now. It’s hard to understand why the PCs are playing politics with this issue. They’d be wise to follow the group’s request and make it a priority. In addition to continuing Josh Underhay’s efforts to make the bridge safe for pedestrians and bicyclists, this issue has evolved into a way to honour his life. The longer the PCs wait, the longer they sit on the wrong side of an issue that has become something more than a bike lane.